There has been much recent discussion about the impact that UPFs (Ultra Processed Foods) are having on our health. These are typically highly-refined foods that possess little nutritional benefit but come with long lists of additives, hidden sugars and preservatives. They also tend to have a less-positive effect on the planet than products made with fewer, more ‘natural’, ingredients. Consuming them occasionally, and in moderation, is not expected to impact anyone significantly, but a diet which is high in UPFs can have negative health outcomes in the long-term.

I have come to believe, over the last 30years of exploring many church traditions and spiritualities, that something similar can apply to the life of faith too. There exists a kind of ‘Ultra Processed Religion’ (UPR) that, when it makes up a large part of our spiritual diet, can leave us not only under-nourished but can slowly erode our spiritual health. This is the religion of easy-answers, slick-marketing and hidden agendas; where faith is packaged in neat wrapping with tempting offers. UPR prizes conformity (or we might say ‘brand loyalty’) over celebrating difference or being prepared to discuss varied theological convictions in the community. Like UPFs, ultra-processed religion is also typically marketed to those most vulnerable and in need of a quick, cheap and palatable solution to their hunger.

The New Year is a time to really look at our spiritual diet afresh and consider including in it a few more ‘raw’ ingredients. Are we reading Scripture for ourselves and bringing it into conversation with both contemporary scholarship and our own and others experience? Can we vary our prayer-diet by trying out a new spiritual discipline like an examen, or journaling, or contemplative prayer, saying the morning and evening office, or reading one of the great spiritual writers for inspiration? The start of any new diet can feel like a slog, even a little indigestible, but the healthiest foods typically require the greatest chewing to extract their nutrients. If we feed ourselves with good and nourishing material in our faith perhaps, with persistence, we will find that our own spiritual health improves and in-turn we can nourish the life of others we meet too.